Dreamers are young people who were raised here as Americans. They pledge allegiance, study hard, want to go to college, serve in the military for the country they perceive as theirs, and seek the American dream. Their only problem, and it is a big one, is that they were not born here, are not citizens and can be deported at any time to countries in which they have never lived and know little to nothing about.
They were brought here. They did not come on their own and had no power or say over their immigration. Many do not remember arriving.
Certain Republican candidates would round them up and ship them off wholesale to their countries of origin.
Today, a panda cub was born here. Pandas generally give birth around mid to late August, so any pandas in the whole world who were about to have cubs have either done so, are doing so, or will do so in very short order. That’s how it works with pandas. Also, any and all pandas that are born anywhere in the world no matter where, are Chinese.
National Zoo’s panda gives birth to cub
© Courtesy of Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute via Facebook Still image from video of Mei Mei in her cage at the National Zoo in Washingtonb, D.C., on August 22, 2015.
WASHINGTON — The National Zoo in Washington says there’s one more panda in the world after its female giant panda gave birth to a cub on Saturday.
Zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson confirmed in an email that Mei Xiang gave birth to the cub at 5:35 p.m. If the cub survives, it would be the 17-year-old panda’s third surviving offspring.
Mei Xiang’s first cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005. Her second cub, Bao Bao, turns 2-years-old on Sunday.
SNIP
The zoo’s current pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the parents of both Bao Bao and Tai Shan, arrived in 2000. The pandas belong to China as do any cubs they have. The pair’s first cub, Tai Shan, returned to China in 2010. Their second cub, Bao Bao, still lives at the National Zoo.
That IF is a really big IF. Panda cubs have a high mortality rate even with the best of care. It will be a long time before veterinarians can get the cub out of the den for the first exam. If the baby does survive, it will be 100 days before it is named. That is Chinese tradition for human children, and it is the protocol followed for little pandas as well. The naming ceremony will feature a high-level Chinese official – perhaps the ambassador. The name will be Chinese.
Like Tai Shan, Bao Bao will one day travel to China as will this little pink baby. To say “Tai Shan, returned to China in 2010” is not completely accurate, however, since Tai Shan was born here and had never been in China.
Pandas cannot speak or tell us how they feel about this arrangement we have. No zoos in the world would have pandas if they did not agree first with the arrangement. Maybe the pandas are fine with it. We cannot know. We do know that pandas are very intelligent and first-time panda moms can learn cub care from watching videos of panda moms caring for infants.
The Chinese treasure their pandas and take very good care of them.
This is real. They graduate from year to year from the nursery to a kind of pre-K environment, and onward to kindergarten … you get the idea. Panda babies go to school.
Coincidentally, I received this in a news feed today.
I can’t give you a definitive description, but I can show you some pictures!
The “Chinese way of studying” can be summed up by the slogan “只要学不死，就往死里学”, which roughly translates into “As long we don’t die from studying, we’ll study until we’re dead.”
Even little pandas have to pass tests. But the goal there is for them to live the Chinese panda dream – unless they are presented to a foreign zoo for exhibition and breeding.
Dreamers are not pandas. They do not “belong” to or probably even in their countries of origin about which they know little or nothing and perhaps would live in great danger. They are American kids minus the papers. We raised them. We educated them. We invested in them, and they want to stay and pay back. Should they be returned to where they came from?
Where you stand on this question will help decide your 2016 vote. I can tell you this. While other candidates have stood on podiums and made rallying speeches to record-breaking crowds, one candidate took the time to sit for a quiet conversation with Dreamers and hear their stories – their side of question.
Hillary Clinton Talks and Tweets Immigration Reform with Dreamers in Nevada
May 5, 2015
At Rancho High School in Las Vegas, Hillary made clear her determination to effect immigration reform and a path to citizenship for Dreamers and, importantly, their families.This event is a perfect example of Hillary’s early campaign strategy. Rather than doing the speaking, Hillary is hearing the stories these Dreamers have to tell. For those who still do not get it, statements from her will not proliferate right now. She is busy doing the listening.
When Hillary lays out her plan for immigration reform, this conversation will have helped to shape that plank in her platform.
We really do not like to say good-bye to our little pandas that we have fostered from birth, but that is our agreement with China. We have no such agreement with any country about people unless they are criminals and extradition treaties apply. Why send away young people we have fostered? It is unthinkable!
************
***Edited to add this*** Indeed it was twins!
Giant panda cub Bao Bao is given a cake to enjoy on her second birthday, at Smithsonian’s National Zoo, in Washington, DC, on Aug. 23, 2015. Bao Bao’s second birthday comes a day after her mother, 17-year-old Mei Xiang, gave birth to twins, Aug. 22. This is only the third time a giant panda living in the United States has given birth to twins. (EPA/Michael Reynolds)It was a busy weekend for giant pandas at the National Zoo: Twins were born. But big sister Bao Bao took the cake, literally, as she turned two today.
Bao Bao, whose name means “precious treasure,” was born at 5:32 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2013. The second cub of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian has developed a kind of cult-like following: people watch her tackle her mom in the snow or eat fruitsicles or tumble down a hill.
For her birthday, Bao Bao enjoyed a traditional frozen fruitsicle cake with all of her favorite treats: honey, apple juice, carrots, beet juice and of course bamboo. For a special treat, zoo officials said keepers wrapped tiny treats inside cardboard boxes for her to unwrap — or enjoy.
Still4Hill 